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Japan's Cabinet cleared a proposal to form a nuclear regulatory agency within the Environment Ministry. The agency will combine the Nuclear Safety Commission, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and related duties overseen by the science ministry. Having those responsibilities catered by one agency will "improve" nuclear regulation and safety, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

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Japan needs to curb its nuclear energy dependence from pre-Fukushima Daiichi incident levels as soon as it can, said Japanese Trade Minister Yukio Edano. His remarks came as the government is studying whether to restart idled nuclear plants. The country obtained 30% of its power supply from nuclear facilities before the March 2011 incident.

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency could have played a role in the Fukushima Daiichi incident by dismissing the need to adopt global emergency-response standards for nuclear plants, said Japanese Trade Minister Yukio Edano. In 2006, NISA said Japan's disaster-prevention measures were adequate and urged the country's Nuclear Safety Commission to stop its consideration of worldwide standards. "In considering what led to the disaster, there were several key factors ... and it is quite possible that this issue may have directly contributed," Edano said.

All of Japan's reactors could be offline when demand for electricity peaks in the summer, said Japanese Trade Minister Yukio Edano. Only two of the country's 54 reactors are running in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi incident. "A tight supply-demand balance [of electricity] does not affect our judgment on nuclear safety and we are in the process of making that judgment," Edano said.

International Atomic Energy Agency officials will travel to Japan this month to study the reactor stress-test findings from the country's nuclear regulator, said Japanese Trade Minister Yukio Edano. Kansai Electric Power's Ohi reactors will be used as an example in the IAEA's review, Edano said.

Japan's idled reactors could resume operations once their safety is verified, said Yukio Edano, the country's new trade minister. However, Edano didn't comment on the possible restart schedule for the units. He also said reactor stress tests must be done systematically and in a manner that is easy to comprehend.